Only 6 Black Caucus Members Show for #BernieSanders Meeting

Only 6 of 46 members of the Congressional Black Caucus met with Sen. Bernie Sanders today at a townhouse off Capitol Hill.

The meeting took place outside the Capitol Building so that the members could talk politics and election strategy in depth. Members may not talk politics on property funded by taxpayers.

Despite the low attendance, Black Caucus Chairman G.K. Butterfield was positive about Sanders and the meeting.

“Sen. Sanders speaks our language,” Butterfield said. He then added that the Caucus and Sanders are on the same page regarding justice reform and economic issues.

The Black Caucus has already met with Hillary Clinton. That meeting took place in the Capitol, so no politics could be discussed though many policy issues were explored in detail. A second meeting with Clinton is expected.

Sen. Sanders is planning to introduce legislation that would bar federal money to be spent on private prisons. The bill will be the first justice reform legislation Sanders has offered in years.

Sanders is currently not a sponsor or co-sponsor of any justice related legislation in the Senate. Bills such as the REDEEM Act, The Justice Safety Valve Act, Stop Racial Profoling and the Smarter Sentencing a Act are a few of the Justice bills that have been introduced in the Senate.

Sen. Sanders has been protested by Black Lives Matter activists for his lack of specific focus on the role of racism in the justice system. Butterfield said that no specific mention of those protests or Black Lives Matter came up during the discussion today.

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lauren victoria burke

Lauren Victoria Burke is a writer, comms strategist and political analyst. She created Crewof42 in 2009. The blog focuses on African American members of Congress and Black political power regardless of party. Ms. Burke also writes for NBC BLK, The Root, NNPA and is the Managing Editor of Politic365. As part of a diverse career in politics and media, she has also served as a congressional staffer for the U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee, Communications Director for U.S. Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) and Director of Communications for Justin Fairfax of Lt. Governor of Virginia. She appears each Monday on weekly on NewsOneNow with Roland Martin on TVOne. Ms. Burke holds a B.A. in History from The American University. Email: LBurke007@gmail.com. Twitter: @LVBurke.